The 9:01 is a daily column on all things Memphis.

Good morning in Memphis, where Beale Street turns from blues to funk tonight, but first…

As we tend to do at The 9:01 when vacations don't coincide with the start of the month, we flip the calendar by gazing ahead at some (note: not all) of the more interesting things on tap this month:

Real Memphis Wresting at Rec Room (Friday, March 2nd): The arcade bar at Broad and Tillman will switch from the Rec Room to the Wreck Room (I didn't come up with this) for live wrestling on the first and third Fridays of each month. It's not Monday night at the Mid-South Coliseum, but it should be interesting.

I Am MLK50 at Ballet Memphis (Friday, March 2nd - Sunday, March 4th): Ballet Memphis will encore four short performances commissioned in 2015 with three weekend performances at its new Overton Square headquarters. Before Friday's opening performance there will be a free "Spark!" discussion (6:30 p.m.) with panelists Ruby O'Gray (actress, director and playwright) and Lawrence Matthews (visual artist/musician). Doors open at 6pm; conversation at 6:30pm.

Red Carpet Party at Rec Room (Sunday, March 4th): Indie Memphis will host an Oscars watch party with food, drink, and Oscar pick contests, including the public disclosure of our own John Beifuss' Oscar picks. You can file your own Beat Beifuss ballot early here.

Memphis Tigers vs. East Carolina at FedExForum (Sunday, March 4th): University of Memphis men's basketball concludes a feisty regular season with postseason hopes still alive.

Memphis Black Restaurant Week (Monday March 5th - Sunday, March 11th at various locations): This third now-annual event will feature lunch and dinner deals from 11 participating black-owned Memphis restaurants, culminating in a new addition: a food truck rodeo on Sunday, March 11th at Clayborn Temple. Jennifer Biggs has more.

Striking Voices: The Photos and Interviews at the Benjamin Hooks Library (Opening Tuesday, March 6th): A group that's been documenting the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike opens an exhibit on the striking workers and their families.

"Wicked at the Orpheum (Wednesday, March 7th - Sunday, March 25th): The popular Broadway musical on the hidden lives of the witches of Oz returns for a three-week run.

Memphis Comedy Festival at various locations (Thursday, March 8th -Sunday, March 11): Lizz Winstead, co-creator of "The Daily Show," will headline this year's Memphis Comedy Fest, which packs funny people from near and far into multiple Midtown locations, with TheatreWorks and the Hi-Tone as primary venues. Potential highlights include "Strip Joker," "Black Nerd Power Hour, and the "Character Assassination" of Craig Brewer. Full schedule and ticketing info here.

"Memphis Rent Party" collects, expands and updates 30 years of work by writer Robert Gordon.(Photo: Bloomsbury)

ChalkFest at the Brooks Museum of Art (Saturday, March 10th): You can join local artists in breaking out sidewalk chalk to transform the Brooks plaza. New Ballet Ensemble will perform. Food trucks will provide sustenance and more.

Fleet Foxes and Natalie Prass at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts (Saturday, March 10): Is this a first? Indie rock at the Cannon Center? Seattle folkies Fleet Foxes and Virginia singer-songwriter Prass will bring a different vibe from the Cannon Center's usual bookings.

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Milwaukee Bucks at FedExForum (Monday, March 12th): This Memphis Grizzlies season, the first in eight years without a pot of playoff gold on the horizon, is going out with a whimper. But here's your only chance for an in-person look at maybe the game's most unique young superstar, Giannis "The Greek Freak" Antetokounmpo.

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March 11, 2017 - Siobhan Bennett is held by Taylor Mitchell as a metroPCS mascot photobombs their picture shot by Sarah Greenbaum following the 44th Annual Silky O'Sullivan Beale Street St. Patrick's Day Parade on Saturday.(Photo: Yalonda M. James, The Commercial Appeal)

Silky O'Sullivan's St. Patrick's Day Parade on Beale Street (Saturday, March 17th): You can find trouble to get into all over Memphis on this Saturday St. Paddy's Day, but Silky's parade is always a Memphis go-to on this occasion.

Freewheel Slow Ride in the Edge District (Wednesday, March 21st): The spring edition of the Freewheel Slow Rides, weekly early evening community bike rides that start from the Edge District and explore different parts of the core city, begins here.

South Memphis Glide Ride at South Memphis Farmer's Market (Saturday, March 24th): The teen bike ambassadors of the ongoing Big Jump program will lead a free afternoon community ride through South Memphis.

"Chocolate Cities" symposium at Crosstown Concourse (Saturday, March 24th): Writer/Rhodes College professor Zandria Robinson and co-author Marcus Anthony Hunter celebrate the release of their book "Chocolate Cities: The Black Map of American Life" with a symposium at Crosstown Concourse. New Orleans booty-shaker Big Freedia plays the after-party down the street at the Hi-Tone.

Hannibal Buress at Minglewood Hall (Tuesday, March 27th): In addition to his own tours and stand-up comedy specials, Hannibal Buress has appeared on or written for "Broad City," "The Eric Andre Show," "Saturday Night Live," and "30 Rock." He returns to Memphis to rock the mic at Minglewood.

John Paul Keith/Motel Mirrors record-release shows at Railgarten (Friday, March 30th): Memphis guitarslinger and songwriter John Paul Keith double-dips with two new albums: Who does he think he is, Guns 'N' Roses? If past performance is any indication, Keith's own "Heart Shaped Shadow" should be pretty sweet. But I'll confess that what I'm really looking forward to is "In the Meantime," the too-long-awaited full-length debut from Motel Mirrors, which pairs Keith with Amy LaVere and whose eponymous debut EP a few years ago was a joy.

Family Egg Hunt at Memphis Botanic Garden (Saturday, March 31st): There aren't many nicer Memphis places to be in the spring than the Botanic Garden, and this will be a 96-acre Easter egg hunt broken up for different age groups.

John Hiatt & the Goners at the Germantown Performing Arts Center (Saturday, March 31st): I'm sure where singer-songwriter Hiatt is headed after this, but he'll be in Memphis in the meantime (de rigueur joke ... check), with guitar ace Sonny Landreth in tow.

Elvis on Film: HBO is debuting a two-part documentary, "Elvis Presley: The Searcher," next month. The trailer is out now:

Music Fest Additions: ICYMI, Beale Street Music Fest added four artists to the lineup it announced last week, with rockers J. Roddy Walston & the Business and three Memphis-connected acts: North Mississippi Allstars, Tora Tora, and Valerie June.

Quick-and-Pop: It was a rough night at FedExForum, as the Grizzlies extended their current losing streak to 11 after falling to the Phoenix Suns, who were in the midst of their own 10-game slide. It resulted in the Grizzlies' first oh-fer month since moving to Memphis. We can joke about "tanking" but the Grizzlies wanted to win this one last night and with Mike Conley, Chandler Parsons, and Tyreke Evans all in street clothes they just didn't have the offensive firepower. Marc Gasol had a strong first half. Andrew Harrison made some gutty plays in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough. The upside at this stage of the season is that the Grizzlies loss, Suns win, and unexpected Atlanta Hawks win leaves the Grizzlies in third place for the moment in terms of draft lottery odds. Of course, there are now six teams within a half game of each other atop the reverse standings. Help is on the way, one way or another, tonight as the Brooklyn Nets (20-42) face the Sacramento Kings (18-43). I'll wade into the current state of the Grizzlies more in tomorrow's Pick-and-Pop.

Happening in Memphis Today: Tiger hoops, postseason hopes still alive, play their penultimate regular-season game tonight at FedExForum against South Florida. Mark Giannotto sets it up. ... George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic, at least in its current if not quite 1970s form, will be at the New Daisy tonight. Their set at Beale Street Music Fest was a good time, and I'd expect that to repeat. Speaking of which...

The Fadeout: I'm feeling more Funkadelic this morning:

Reach Chris Herrington at chris.herrington@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter at @chrisherrington and @herringtonNBA.